Fish processor says fines will force it out of Reykjanesbær

A fish-processing company in Reykjanesbær says it will have to leave the municipality after an appeals board upheld daily fines until it shuts down, mbl.is reported.

The Environmental and Natural Resources Appeals Board confirmed the decision by the Suðurnes Health Authority to fine Premium of Iceland 50,000 Icelandic krónur a day over its operations at Brekkustígur 22 to 24 in Njarðvík.

Chief executive Gylfi Markússon said the dispute centres on the company’s registration. He said a 2022 amendment to laws on hygiene and pollution control meant the business no longer needed an operating permit, only registration. According to Markússon, the health authority has repeatedly refused to register the company, arguing that its operations conflict with the municipal master plan.

He said registration should be handled through an online portal within five days, but that the health authority sought an opinion from the municipal building officer, who concluded the operations did not comply with the plan.

Premium of Iceland normally employed about 38 to 40 people, Markússon said, but he has reduced the workforce to about 20 this year. He said the dispute had damaged the company’s relationships with customers and led prospective investors to withdraw.

Markússon said Helguvík is the only industrial area designated for this type of activity, but the company does not want to move there and building premises there would take several years. He said the company therefore saw no option but to leave Reykjanesbær.

He said hygiene, pollution and site management were not the reasons for the decision. Markússon also said the appeals board had overturned a similar decision by the same health authority concerning a fish processor in the same municipality two years ago.